7 Fearsome Predators That Deserve Their Own Week

With the Discovery Channels Shark Week in full swing, shark admiration is alive and well. But why should they hog the limelight? PopMech takes a look at seven other predators that deserve seven days in the spotlight.

With the Discovery Channel's Shark Week in full swing, shark admiration is alive and well. But why should they hog the limelight? PopMech takes a look at seven other predators that deserve seven days in the spotlight.

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Jim, the Photographer/Flickr

Green Anaconda

The largest snake in the world, the green anaconda reaches more than 29 feet in length and a foot in diameter and weighs in at 550 pounds; its monstrous proportions inspired the Anaconda movie series. The snake is a constrictor and so is a nonvenomous species, but its huge size allows it to hunt down and consume everything from turtles and birds to deer and jaguars.

Anacondas typically lie in wait in the swamps, marshes, and streams of their South American habitat, hovering near the surface. Once it spots a target, the enormous serpent will lunge out and coil itself around its prey, squeezing tighter and tighter until the animal dies from asphyxiation. The anaconda then opens its massive jaws and swallows the prey whole.

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Leigh Bedford/Flickr

Crocodiles

Of all the various species of crocodiles roaming the planet, the Nile and saltwater crocodiles are the most ferocious.

The Nile crocodile’s territory runs close to that of humans, so even we have reason to fear this 16-foot-long, 500-pound beast. Notoriously indiscriminating in their eating habits, Nile crocodiles will eat fish, zebras, hippos, porcupines, birds, and even other crocodiles. They are not above scavenging for carrion, and National Geographic reports that Nile crocodiles kill an estimated 200 people a year.

The largest crocodile on the planet, the saltwater croc, averages 17 feet in length and tips the scales at 1000 pounds. Known to range from southeast India to northern Australia, "salties" can take down monkeys, wild boars, water buffalo, and even sharks. As if their immense size and appetite weren’t enough, saltwater crocodiles have the strongest bite ever measured. They can clamp their jaws down with 3700 pounds per square inch of force, almost four times as much as a lion, and more than 18 times the biting power of a human. Oh, and saltwater crocodiles can live for 70 years in the wild.

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Chad Rosenthal/Flickr

Leopard Seal

The most formidable hunter of its kind, the leopard seal, which can grow to 10 feet and 240 pounds, prowls the Antarctic, lying in wait under shelves and cracks in the ice for unsuspecting penguins to drop into the icy water before snatching them up in its jaws. Leopard seals get their name from their spotted coats and are the only kind of seal that feeds on warm-blooded prey. Thick layers of fat keep them warm in the Antarctic water. While the leopard seal diet consists mainly of smaller seals, fish, squid, and penguins, they have been known to try to nibble on nature photographers.

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Jerzy Strzelecki at Wikipedia

Polar Bear

On the other end of the globe, polar bears roam the Arctic using their slightly webbed front paws to swim. Polar bears are opportunistic hunters, waiting around holes or cracks in the surface of the ice hoping to catch seals off-guard. They have also been known to feast on whale carcasses. Polar bears actually have black skin, which helps them soak up as much of the heat from the sun as possible, while a thick coat of white fur keeps them warm and blended in with the snowy environment. With no natural enemies, they do not typically fear humans. And an 8-foot, 1600-pound polar bear is not something you want to run across.

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Gabriel Hsia/Flickr

Komodo Dragon

Komodo dragons are fearless. With sharp claws and teeth like a shark’s, they dine on deer, pigs, smaller lizards, water buffalo, and the occasional human who ventures to close to their Indonesian habitat.

At 10 feet long and weighing 330 pounds, komodo dragons are the largest lizards on earth. Despite their other hunting tools, a komodo dragon’s saliva may be its most potent weapon. It harbors more than 50 strains of bacteria, and animals that a dragon bites usually suffer for 24 hours before succumbing to blood poisoning. During this time, the dragons will follow the stricken prey, stalking and patiently waiting for it to die. Then they gorge themselves, eating up to 80 percent of their own body weight in one sitting.

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Takato Marui/Flickr

Killer Whale (Orca)

The killer-whale name is a misleading one—orcas are technically the largest type of dolphin. At least the "killer" label is accurate. Pack hunters by nature, killer whales have a distinctive black and white coloring and range all over the world, using echolocation to communicate and hunt. An orca’s 4-inch-long teeth help it eat seals, sea lions, fish, squid, seabirds, and whales. These school-bus-size predators aren’t your everyday Shamu.

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Javontaevious at Wikipedia

Anglerfish

One of the freakiest-looking creatures in the world, the anglerfish lives a mile below the surface of the ocean—too deep for any light to reach. Females sport a biological "fishing pole": a piece of spine that protrudes above the mouth. At the end of the lure is a bob that glows with the help of millions of bioluminescent bacteria. When curious deep-sea creatures get too close while investigating the mysterious source of light, the anglerfish snatches them up in its huge jaws lined with hooked, translucent teeth.

While most female anglerfish measure less than a foot long, their enormous heads and mouths allow them to swallow prey twice their own size. Males are much smaller than females and do not have the same lure as the females. In fact, young males will latch onto females and over time fuse with their skin and bloodstream, becoming little more than underwater hitchhikers.

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